Geo-resources for the future – a multi-disciplinary minor to provide a new perspective to geosciences

Abstract

This contribution showcases a voluntary  minor that part of the BSc curriculum in the Netherlands. The unique minor aims to teach students coming from diverse disciplines and backgrounds, including but not limited to geology, political science, economics, history, computer science etc., about the complexities involved in exploring and exploiting geological resources (“geo-resources”). An operating company needs a licence to operate, that is the permission to carry out the business of exploiting a geo-resource. This formal licence will only be granted after presenting a sound plan based on a thorough assessment of the relevant technical, economic, environmental and societal aspects, taking into account the concerns of the shareholders from industry as well as local citizens . In this minor, students therefore learn the basic geoscience knowledge relevant to geo-resources as well as the economic, environmental and societal aspects that need to be considered for a responsible exploitation of geo-resources. There is increasing evidence that modern geoscience curricula need to consider societal aspects to remain meaningful in the future and train a workforce that can deliver new geo-resource projects at scale, which are urgently needed to meet legally binding targets in the EU and elsewhere to reduce CO2 emissions and accelerate the energy transition by 2050.